C/EBPβ isoform-specific regulation of migration and invasion in triple-negative breast cancer cells

Britt A. Sterken, Tobias Ackermann, Christine Müller, Hidde R. Zuidhof, Gertrud Kortman, Alejandra Hernandez-Segura, Mathilde Broekhuis,  Diana Spierings, Victor Guryev & Cornelis F. Calkhoven. C/EBPβ isoform-specific regulation of migration and invasion in triple-negative breast cancer cells. npj Breast Cancer. DOI: 10.1038/s41523-021-00372-z.

The transcription factor C/EBPβ is a master regulator of mammary gland development and tissue remodelling during lactation. The CEBPB-mRNA is translated into three distinct protein isoforms named C/EBPβ-LAP1, -LAP2 and -LIP that are functionally different. Aberrantly high expression of LIP is considered to act oncogenic in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In this paper we show that LIP stimulates breast cancer cell migration and invasion through regulation of genes involved in cell migration, extracellular matrix production and cytoskeletal remodelling, many of which are epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker genes. This study together with studies from others shows that understanding the functions the C/EBPβ-isoforms in breast cancer development may reveal new avenues of treatment.

For the whole article see the link:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41523-021-00372-z